The week included a federal order restoring slavery exhibits, DHS leadership changes, FEMA travel restrictions, and U.S. strikes.
Dante Belcher
Feb 20, 2026
Trump’s 57th week brought updates to global conflicts, federal rulings and changes to federal leadership. Following a previous report from The Introspective detailing strikes on Venezuela, the U.S. launched strikes on boats in Latin America, killing 11 people as tensions continue. At the same time, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore exhibits on slavery at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia.
As a funding lapse impacting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues, the agency restricted Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) staff from traveling throughout disaster-affected areas, raising implications as a partial government shutdown continues. Meanwhile, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin announced she is leaving the agency.
Airstrikes and Federal Ruling
The U.S. launched airstrikes on three boats accused of drug trafficking, killing 11 people as tensions with Latin America continue.
“Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and were engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” the U.S. Southern Command wrote on X.
Many of the strikes have faced criticism from advocacy groups accusing the U.S. of extrajudicial violence.
“Those being killed by US military strikes at sea are denied any due process whatsoever,” the Washington Office on Latin America said in an analysis.
“They are asserting and exercising an apparently unlimited license to kill people that the president deems to be terrorists.”
This follows a previous Introspective report detailing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s announcement of a military campaign called “Operation Southern Spear,” aimed at drug trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean.
At the same time, U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe directed the Trump administration to restore exhibits on slavery at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia.
“As if the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s 1984 now existed, with its motto ‘Ignorance is Strength,’ this Court is now asked to determine whether the federal government has the power it claims—to dissemble and disassemble historical truths when it has some domain over historical facts. It does not,” she wrote in a court filing, referencing the novel 1984.
“The government here likewise asserts truth is no longer self-evident, but rather the property of the elected chief magistrate and his appointees and delegees, at his whim to be scraped clean, hidden or overwritten,” she continued.
“And why? Solely because, as Defendants state, it has the power.”
In a statement obtained by The Introspective, the Department of Interior said it would be appealing the ruling.
“The National Park Service routinely updates exhibits across the park system to ensure historical accuracy and completeness,” the agency wrote.
“If not for this unnecessary judicial intervention, updated interpretive materials providing a fuller account of the history of slavery at Independence Hall would have been installed in the coming days.”
The National Park Service later announced it would restore the slavery exhibits.
FEMA and Homeland Security
As a partial government shutdown continues, FEMA staff have been restricted from traveling throughout disaster-prone areas, a move unprecedented as shutdowns do not usually impede disaster recovery efforts.
“In most cases, FEMA’s ability to deploy staff to active disaster response and recovery operations is not impacted by a DHS funding lapse,” former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told The Washington Post.
“Those personnel are funded through the Stafford Act’s Disaster Relief Fund, which is specifically designed to ensure continuity of operations during emergencies. If DHS experiences a shutdown, FEMA employees supported by the Disaster Relief Fund should still be able to travel and carry out response missions.”
Another official emphasized the challenges posed by the new restrictions.
“DHS imposing restrictions on FEMA’s ability to deploy our response/recovery workforce slows us down and limits our ability to respond quickly and effectively to the needs of impacted states and communities,” the official said.
DHS said in a statement that “FEMA travel related to active disasters is not canceled.”
“While some non-essential activities will be paused or scaled back, FEMA remains committed to supporting communities and responding to incidents like Hurricane Helene,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin announced she is leaving the agency following backlash after the killings of Keith Porter, Renee Good and Alex Pretti by immigration agents.
The Introspective 
Leave a comment